A Day trip to Cape Point – Under the Cover with Ed Beukes
After chatting to Teco the other day, we decided to turn words into action and dedicated a day to being a tourist in our own city and re-discovering Cape Point. With hopes of seeing ragged cliffs with breath-taking views of blue waters ending in clouds of rushing white foam, we headed out to see one of Cape Town’s Big 6.
Cape Point lies about 60km south-west of Cape Town at the tip of the Cape Peninsula. Declared as a Natural World Heritage Site, this nature reserve in the Table Mountain National Park is home to unique and treasured flora namely the Fynbos floral kingdom.
Also living in this natural paradise are baboons, buck species, the Cape Mountain Zebra and over 250 species of birds.
And so, being nature enthusiasts ourselves, we decided to take our ladies along and took a road-trip to the infamous Cape Town attraction of Cape Point.
The spectacular drive from Cape Town CBD around the Peninsula had us enjoying pristine views of Clifton, Camps Bay, Llandudno, Hout Bay and of course the highlight being Chapman’s Peak Drive. After Noordhoek and Kommetjie, we finally reached the gates at around 10h00 and entered the Table Mountain National Park. Carolina (Teco’s girlfriend who is from Chile) was adamant on seeing baboons or babuinos as she said in Spanish with her camera in hand and this soon became a must-do item on our invisible list for our Cape Point adventure.
After taking a walk to the old lighthouse at the top of Cape Point and enjoying views of both the eastern and western sections of the Peninsula, we took a stroll to the Diaz viewpoint to have a look at the new lighthouse which is at a lower elevation than before for two reasons.
One being that in the past, ships could see the old lighthouse earlier than they were supposed to causing them to approach the coast too quickly and secondly being that the mist and fog often caused the old lighthouse to become invisible from far out at sea.
Though we took on the footpaths and stairs, Cape Point also offers the Flying Dutchman Funicular from the parking area to the old lighthouse for those seeking a less perspiring trip.
On our descent we popped in at the classy Two Oceans Restaurant which is specially designed with floors at different levels enabling every guest to enjoy some of the most stunning views Cape Point has to offer.
Nevertheless, after incomparable sightseeing and world class panoramas, Carolina was still persistent on seeing the babuinos.
We drove out to the Cape of Good Hope and also had our classic picture taken at “The Most South-Western Point of the African Continent” at 18˚28˚26”East 34˚21˚25”South.
By then, we had practically forgotten about Carolina’s baboons when suddenly we had to make a quick stop for a troop casually lazing around in the middle of the road. Not a minute passed before a large male baboon jumped a female which made Carolina laugh out loud.
Not only did we have a personal experience of their bedside manners but also watched them eat, socialize and pick fleas from each other’s backs. As we were about to leave, two brave baboons jumped onto our car and this was the ultimate climax to Carolina’s desperate search for baboons. It was more up, close and personal than she could ever have imagined.
Be warned though Cape Point baboons can be dangerous and it is illegal & dangerous to feed them.
We slowly eased our way into the drive back to Cape Town and admired the scenic route past old harbour & fishing towns like Simon’s Town, Fish Hoek, Kalk Bay and St James arriving back in Cape Town, smiling and sun-kissed.
Where to go:
Cape Point Nature Reserve 60km south-west of Cape Town in the Table Mountain National Park. Follow the coastal road through Clifton, Camps Bay and through Hout Bay to Chapman’s Peak. Continue through Noordhoek and follow road signs either around Kommetjie and Scarborough road or Simon’s Town.
When to go:
Open hours differ depending on season.
Monday- Sunday
– Cape of Good Hope 06h00-18h00
Entrance Fee: R90 Adults and R40 Children (aged 2-11)
– Flying Dutchman Funicular 9h00-17h30
Return Ticket: R49 Adult and R21 Children (aged 6-16)
Single Way Ticket: R39 Adult and R16 Children (aged 6-16)
Two Oceans Restaurant 9h00-17h00
What to expect:
Spectacular views of the Cape Peninsula
Beautiful Scenery of Fynbos Floral Kingdom
Encounter with Baboons/Buck Species/Cape Mountain Zebra/Bird Species
Old and New Lighthouses with Flying Dutchman Funicular
Two Oceans Restaurant
Images & content: Ed Beukes